Garden Planner, Feb. 9

Feb. 8, 2013

Written by

Stephanie Bruner

Special to the Register

This week

• Check trees and shrubs that you are overwintering in garages or sheds. If the soil is powdery dry, water them. If it’s still frozen, they should be fine. And if they’re in front of a window, move them — on warm winter days, the heat from the window can cause them to break bud much too early.

• If you plan to put out birdhouses this year, do it now so the birds have time to find them before nesting season starts. Wood is the best material for birdhouses, as it provides some insulation against both cold and summer heat. Leave wooden birdhouses unpainted, as bright colors can attract predators. You can learn lots more about attracting birds to your garden, including what kinds of birds like your area, what plants will attract them, and more, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, at www.allaboutbirds.org.

This month

• It’s time to do some garden planning! Did you have areas that were hard to keep watered last summer? It might be time to swap out high-water-use plants for some, like yucca, Russian sage, sedum or caryopteris, that don’t need as much water.

• Speaking of planning, what about vegetables? Even if you don’t have room to plant a whole vegetable garden, it’s easy to tuck a few edible plants into a flower border. As you’re choosing seeds, look for varieties that stay small, like bush cucumbers and determinate, patio-type tomatoes. Asparagus makes a great backdrop for a flower border. And you can plant a row or two of radishes in early spring — after you harvest them, you’ll still have time to pop in some annual flowers.

Stephanie Bruner is a freelance writer in Des Moines with a degree in horticulture.